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shmarvie's review
5.0
“Don’t be selfish and press the button.” was my thought for about 3/5ths of the book. I’ve experienced depression and numbness but not in the same ways as Henry so i didn’t want to discredit what this character was feeling but I kept having this dislike for Henry. How could you be so selfish to think the rest of the world isn’t worth saving just because of what you’re going through? You would rob the billions of people of their shot at a happy life just because you can’t see one for yourself. I was being a little selfish in my thinking..
After getting passed the surface of this “press the button to save the world” story I started viewing this book for what it is with a deeper meaning.
Henry is in such a dark place that all he sees is the darkness in the world. Finally getting a better grasp on where he was coming from I hungered for him to find some light.
The story is about him saving himself. Not the world.
I was right there with Diego, “ I want you to press the button because you want to.” We wanted Henry to save himself.
“This isn’t a book, it’s a mirror,” my friend Brian said and this statement couldn’t be more true.
Added to my favorites.
After getting passed the surface of this “press the button to save the world” story I started viewing this book for what it is with a deeper meaning.
Henry is in such a dark place that all he sees is the darkness in the world. Finally getting a better grasp on where he was coming from I hungered for him to find some light.
The story is about him saving himself. Not the world.
I was right there with Diego, “ I want you to press the button because you want to.” We wanted Henry to save himself.
“This isn’t a book, it’s a mirror,” my friend Brian said and this statement couldn’t be more true.
Added to my favorites.
kuuraketti's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Pretty disappointed to be honest. I got bored reading this, the stuff about the sluggers and abductions and whether or not to save the world got repetitive after a while. The main character was annoying and the back and forth with Diego was so frustrating and unnecessary.
The last chapter was really good, but didn't save the whole book for me.
The last chapter was really good, but didn't save the whole book for me.
bookish_withsky's review
4.0
I heard one person on Youtube talk about enjoying this, read the first line and then decided to read it without ever reading the synopsis or really knowing anything about what it was actually about. So, I was quite surprised when I expected aliens and got a heart-tugging story about a boy struggling with grief, depression, and suicidal ideation. I absolutely loved it, though I do think it's important to look out for trigger warnings of suicidal ideations and stillbirth - though it is unseen.
leafblade's review
2.0
I get what it was trying to do but it was juggling lots of stuff at once and if it had committed to one maybe I would've liked it more
eduardtatomir's review
4.0
I thought it was really cute and as I got more invested in the story, the more I wanted to read and see how it ended. It got a bit repetitive at times but I still really liked it.
greenleafbooks's review
4.0
4.5 stars. This was a very impactful book and hit home for me. It was sad to read but at the same time hopeful. I think the open ended ness of the ending also helped with the impactful ness of the message in this book. I’m exited to read another book by this author.
cloudjules's review
2.0
I must be missing something here. I've heard so many people gushing over this book, but pretty much everything about it fell flat to me. I found the narration repetitive and the messages heavy-handed, and a lot of the pop culture references read like forced attempts at sounding ~young and hip~.
It didn't help that I found the main character to be extremely unlikeable. I understand he's having a very hard time dealing with an obviously traumatic event, but that doesn't change the fact that he's selfish to the point of barely considering the rest of humanity when trying to decide whether or not the world should end. He also came across as very whiny and judgemental. I imagine this was the intention, but it's overdone and by the time he actually displays some character growth it was too little, too late.
And I suppose that the alien thing is supposed to be a metaphor or whatever, but I was also really disappointed by how little it was explored. It made the book feel mis-marketed, like I was tricked into reading regular contemporary YA when I was looking for sci-fi.
All in all, very disappointing.
It didn't help that I found the main character to be extremely unlikeable. I understand he's having a very hard time dealing with an obviously traumatic event, but that doesn't change the fact that he's selfish to the point of barely considering the rest of humanity when trying to decide whether or not the world should end. He also came across as very whiny and judgemental. I imagine this was the intention, but it's overdone and by the time he actually displays some character growth it was too little, too late.
Spoiler
But possibly what annoyed me the most was his relationship with Diego, which felt unnecessarily complicated. Henry has obvious issues with self-sabotage, but when they're breaking up every five minutes it's just like... maybe it's not working out and they just aren't meant to be together? We're never given enough reason to root for their relationship anyway.And I suppose that the alien thing is supposed to be a metaphor or whatever, but I was also really disappointed by how little it was explored. It made the book feel mis-marketed, like I was tricked into reading regular contemporary YA when I was looking for sci-fi.
All in all, very disappointing.
milana2005's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75